that pink one
by sasuke's duck butt hair
Summary: With hair that colour, there was no way to mistake her for anyone else. Part III: Naruto - "I'm not strong enough to protect her, so what do I do instead? I HURT her."
1. Kakashi & Icha Icha

Well, this was supposed to be a drabble, but apparently once I start I can't stop.

This chapter is from Kakashi's point-of-view, centering around our favourite pink-hairing kunoichi, of course. All chapters will be Sakura-centric, written from the point-of-view of another character.

Disclaimer: Naruto is not, and will never be, mine. :'(

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_Part I: Kakashi_

**Icha Icha**

I catch her peeking over my shoulder. She thinks I haven't noticed, but I do. There's a lot I notice about her.

She shouldn't be reading this. Riveting as it is, her tastes are more… "dignified", as I'm sure she'd put it. I sometimes try to get her to give it a shot - even going so far as to lend her my signed copy of Icha Icha Paradise, one of the classics - but she only got through a couple paragraphs before squealing and hurling the book back at me. I believe she shouted something along the lines of me being more perverted than she ever thought possible before she stormed off.

Despite certain lapses in maturity, she's better than me these days. Just a better person, plain and simple. The harshness of the shinobi world chipped away at her, and for a while I thought she just wasn't cut out for her job - especially after Sasuke's abandonment. No one thought she'd bounce back from that. I worried she'd do something stupid, or even worse, train less and less often until she stopped altogether and just gave up on being a kunoichi. But she's pulled herself together since then and turned her biggest weakness - her compassion - into her biggest asset. She doesn't know it, but she's stronger than me. Mentally, I mean. She can get through anything. She'll realise that when life hits her with another curveball.

My lazy onyx eyeball slides to the side of my face and graces her with an appraising look. The corner of my mouth quirks up, which I'm sure she can't see. "I take it you're having second thoughts about my choice of reading material?" I drawl, and her heated cheeks betray her. _Caught red-handed._

She whips her head to the side, rosette locks flying, and mutters something about having somewhere else to be. I watch her back as she makes a hasty retreat. Dusk's dying rays of light bathe the edges of her skin, making her glow. Like an angel. A little pink angel who'd rip your intestines out through your belly button for getting on her bad side. Ah yes, that's her. Sakura, the first of my students to surpass her teacher. She's always been my favourite.

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Thanks very much for reading! Please let me know your thoughts on this.

_Next chapter: Sasuke._


	2. Sasuke & The Remedy

This one's shorter this time, more like a drabble.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, I just like to manipulate the characters. *heh heh*

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Part II: Sasuke

**Remedy**

She calls me a douchebag and snorts with mirth at her own bravery.

I blink at her and scoff, unable to hide my surprise. Gone is the twelve-year old lovestruck puppy, it seems. Out with the old Sakura, in with the new.

Her chakra prods at my innards before she withdraws it completely. My vitals are fine, she says. She has healed my near-fatal wounds completely; all that's left is a sliver of a scar bisecting my chest.

Are those the only wounds that have healed?

She shuffles around the sterile hospital room. Her hair is short and her temper even shorter. When her fingers touch me, they are not tender as they once were. Clinical and professional, she wears her calluses as proof of her experience. She has changed.

I ask if I am free to leave. Where will you go, she asks. Her voice does not betray her emotions like it used to. Her tone is flat.

I shrug.

She turns to face me. She looks tired. Past the point of being fed-up, and past the point of no return.

Okay, she says. She mirrors my shrug and turns away again.

As I walk out the door, I wonder, for the first time in years, what exactly it is that I am leaving behind.

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So there we have it. Please let me know what you think!

_In the next chapter: Naruto!_


	3. Naruto & the Transformation

Wahoo, I'm having fun writing this, so here's the next part - a bit of one-sided NaruSaku for y'all.

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Part III: Naruto

**Transformation**

_Goddammit, I did it again._

I can barely see. I think I'm lying on my back, but I can't be sure. My skin feels like it's been doused in gasoline and lit on fire. All I remember is that I hurt her. Because I lost control, _again._ I'm not strong enough to protect her, so what do I do instead? I HURT her.

She's making noise. Her voice bounces around the walls of my head. I think she's gonna clobber me into next week, so I squeeze my eyes shut and wait for the ass-kicking. But she doesn't hit me.

Is she scared of me? Does she think I'm gonna lose control again, surrender my body to the Nine-tails?

It sounds like she's crying. My heart drops into my stomach.

All the times she's thought little of me when we were kids. All the times she's called me a useless idiot. All the times she thought I was nothing. The pain I felt... I would take that pain over and over again for the rest of my life - I'd even let that bastard Sasuke have her - if it meant I could undo what I've just done. I've hurt her. The only girl I love.

_Sakura._

With effort I pry open my curtains of lead, otherwise known as eyelids. That blurry figure to the right… that must be Captain Yamato. On my other side is a mop of coral hair weeping and gasping. My heart wrenches. _No, Sakura-chan, please don't cry._

I try to tell her how sorry I am for accidentally hurting her, but my voice decides to be an asshole and betray me. I end up sounding like one of Pervy Sage's toad summons. Gah, I can't even lift my hand to comfort her! Some future Hokage I am.

Her head snaps up at the sound of my mumbles. She looks ragged, her face stained with grime and blood except for the lines of dried tears. But after a second her mouth splits into the most beautiful smile I've ever seen and I'm left breathless.

She shrieks my name and crushes me in a hug. My skin is ablaze with pain, but there's no way in HELL I'm letting go of her. She sobs unintelligible words into my shoulder, and I hold her to me tightly. Relief rushes through my veins, cleansing me of my guilt. She's okay. She doesn't hate me. Maybe she'll wanna kill me later, but for now… I'm so, so happy.

_You mean the world to me, Sakura._

Never again will I give myself over to my fury. Never again will I let the beast inside me hurt the ones I love. I can't be Sasuke, but for her, I will be the man she deserves. I'll be everything and anything.

_I love you._

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If anyone's confused, this is meant to take place after Naruto gets super pissed off and begins transforming into the Kyuubi, based on the Shippuden episode where he battles Orochimaru in Nine-tails chakra mode and accidentally hurts Sakura (I don't know when this happens in the manga).

Hope you liked it!


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